English club rugby has never been better supported but, as a new wave of spectators is attracted to it, so they have less regard for the nuances of a complex game. Saracens were last Sunday striving to make their best start to a Premiership campaign and go top of the table but, after they indulged in another bout of aimless kicking with Gloucester in the second half, a large section of the crowd booed.

Saracens went on to win but the unhappy supporters were looking to see the ball in hand and therein lies the problem. The first month of the Premiership campaign has been played in largely dry and sunny conditions but few games have flowed and tries have been at a premium. Only two sides, London Irish and Northampton, have recorded try bonus points, with the bottom club, Leeds, twice the victims. Five of the 12 sides in the table are averaging less than a try a game, with only Irish, Northampton and Wasps, who were unusually try-shy last season, returning more than two tries a match.

Whereas the 2007-08 Premiership campaign was notable for a greater sense of adventure than was traditionally associated with the English game, the start of last season was blighted by a combination of the experimental law variations and a refereeing crackdown at the breakdown that left sides reluctant to move the ball in their own half for fear of being caught in possession and penalised.

The worst of the variations have gone the way of the four-point drop-goal and the crackdown lasted only a couple of months but a new law directive is having an equally stifling effect. After a tackle any player on his feet may attempt to gain possession by taking the ball from the ball carrier's possession. It is another example of a law drawn up with positive intentions having a stifling effect.

"We are not playing an open game as we would like because tacklers are able to get their hands on the ball," said the Worcester director of rugby, Mike Ruddock. "With the new tackle area law, if you try to run when you haven't got numbers in attack, it is very difficult to guarantee you will recycle the ball every time you go through the phases. There will be a lot of kicking with the way the laws are and you have to contest those kicks and pressurise the receiver."

Bath have been the most enterprising side in the Premiership in recent years and, though they have scored only seven tries, compared with 12 at the same stage last season, their prop David Barnes expects the game to open up as the season goes on. "We have a senior player group at the club which has an input into strategy," he said. "A style of play depends on a number of factors, not least who you are playing, and the head coach has the final say but it is important that players make a contribution because they have to make decisions on the field.

"There has not been much adventurous rugby in the Premiership so far but that is often the case in the opening month. Teams know the importance of making a good start: history shows us that the sides at the top of the table in September are generally there or thereabouts in May. I am sure that as the season unfolds, there will be more expansive rugby and many more tries scored."

Barnes, the chairman of the Professional Rugby Players' Association, said he was concerned by the booing at Vicarage Road last Sunday. "I do not think there was any call for it," he said. "No matter what the style of rugby is, the common factor is that players give everything they have to win a game. It is vital that spectators show their support and do not let any frustrations get the better of them."

Saracens travel to Newcastle on Sunday looking to extend their lead at the top. They have scored five tries in their four matches so far, compared with 11 in four two years ago, when they made another strong start to a campaign only to fall away. Their director of rugby, Brendan Venter, has justified the no-risk rugby his side are playing by pointing out that probably the most inconsistent team in the Premiership over the last decade needs to appreciate what it takes to win. The approach is defended by Newcastle's Tonga centre, Tane Tu'ipulotu.

"Even with their results, Saracens have taken a bit of criticism from some people for the style they have been playing but, if you ask me, it's just smart rugby," he said. "We would do well to draw some of that into our own game instead of trying to play inside our own half at times, because you can get yourself into real trouble being caught in possession within kickable range. We should look at what Saracens are doing and incorporate a bit of that here at Newcastle, because results-wise it has obviously worked for them."

The Falcons have drawn three of their opening four matches having tied only one in the previous two seasons. "The game of rugby is all about putting the little elements together to get what I call the sweetness of flow," added Tu'ipulotu. "While there will always be obstacles in our way, we have to find ways over and around them."